


The Prince Who Did Not Know Love

by interestinggin



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Fairy Tale Style, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-03
Updated: 2013-11-03
Packaged: 2017-12-31 09:03:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1029835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/interestinggin/pseuds/interestinggin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fairytale kingdom, an enchanted beast, and a gallant knight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Prince Who Did Not Know Love

**Once upon a time** , in a faraway land, there lived a handsome prince, and his heart was warm.

So many stories begin that way, don’t they? With light, and happiness, and wonderful magic. Drawing you in, to the world of your dreams. But there must always be darkness, to make the light seem brighter. And I fear that this tale is a very dark tale indeed.

For there were storm clouds in the prince’s kingdom. One day, an evil wizard stole him and his family away, because evil cannot bear to see good triumph. He put the king and queen to death, and hurt the prince very badly. He locked the prince in the highest, tallest tower, wrapped up in an evil spell, and for many years the prince knew neither love nor light. All he knew was the wizard's wickedness, whispered into his ears by dark familiars, drawing him to hate and cold fury. On the day he finally let him go, the wizard cursed him with these words:

_“You will speak no words of love, and you will never find a home._   
_Your pride will leave you broken, and you will live your life alone._   
_You will hurt the one who helped you, and the fault will be your own.”_

As he spoke, the prince’s young heart was hardened, and he became twisted, and angry, and he turned into the foulest and cruellest of beasts, doomed to be unable to speak. He was lost, and lonely, and filled with injustice and rage. And so the prince was forced to walk the all the kingdoms of the earth, searching for the wizard, so that he could be turned back into a prince again. Years passed, and the prince grew weary - weary of the harsh looks and cruel tongues of the people. His claws grew long, and his teeth grew sharp, and he fell into despair and hopelessness.

In one of the neighbouring kingdoms lived a brave and gallant knight. He was good, and he was kind; the kindest knight in all the land. Not a day went by but that he helped a poor peasant or rescued a fair damsel, and his heart was full of love. He was accordingly loved by all the people. Yet he too was not happy, for in his heart of hearts he was all alone. He had only his sister, and she did not want to fight dragons and save maidens. “If only,” thought the knight, “if only I could find someone to share my life with.”

It just so happened that one day, when the bold knight was out walking, he heard tell of a dark sorcerer who was planning to seize control of the land. The knight knew he had to save those whom he loved. He took his sword in hand, and galloped with all might on his bold steed to fight the sorcerer, and come to the aid of the people. But who should be there, already locked in battle with the evil wizard – for it was he – but a terrifying beast!

His fur was dark and his roar was great, and any lesser man might have fled there and then. He snarled, and the ground shook beneath him. And soon, mighty though the sorcerer was, the beast had him at his mercy. The sorcerer laughed, for he believed his prophecy had come to pass, and this angered the beast still more. He raised a great paw to bring it down on the sorcerer's head. The knight, watching from a thicket, could take now more. He flung off his helm, ran to the beast's side and begged him to let the sorcerer go. Eventually, his rage ebbing, let him go the beast did, so soothing were the knight’s words. Indeed, the knight was an enchanter himself, of sorts.

Then the beast grew ashamed of his weakness, and bared his teeth. He howled in fear, for most of the people he met were scared of his terrifying form, and threw stones or foul words. To his surprise, however, the knight did not shy away from his claws and his fur and his mighty howl. Instead, he smiled at the beast, and held out a hand. The beast who did not know love hit at it with one great paw. The knight simply smiled again, and buried his hand in his mane. The beast looked at it, and took it in his claws. The knight grinned, and turned back to his horse.

Together the brave men travelled many miles, slayed many demons, and saved many damsels. The people of the world would cheer them on, if a little muted through fear, and finally the beast knew the admiration he had craved. At the end of their days, they would gather round the campfire, and the knight would talk happily of the songs the bards would sing, and the joy that he felt in his heart. The beast could not speak, and did not understand how he was feeling. Yet the knight knew full well what was happening, and he opened up his heart for happiness. For he knew he was falling in love.

Finally, the day came when they heard yet again talk of a dark shadow rising over a kingdom to the West.

"It seems there are no king and queen in this land, my friend," said the knight to the beast, when a messenger brought them the news, "and the wizard has returned to the land where he ruled for many years."

The beast was afraid, for he knew it was the land of his birth and his torment. They rode with all haste to the wizard's kingdom. On their travels, the knight spoke to the beast and warned him not to become in to the monster he appeared to be.

“You are not a beast, my friend,” said the knight. “A beast's heart is ruled by hate. You are a good man. A good man lets his heart be ruled by love.” The beast did not heed his wise words. All his life he had waited for this moment. The wizard would pay for his foul deeds.

As they arrived, a great and evil cackle came from the tower of the castle. The wizard was preparing a spell, a spell which would turn all the men of the world into bloodthirsty monsters, would turn the lands to madness and decay.

"We cannot let him prosper, my friend," said the knight in fear. The beast knew that he spoke the truth.

There were words he wanted to say. But he could not speak, and he did not know them anyway.

The knight fought valiantly that day to help his friend and save his people, and at last the two men defeated the wizard, in a bond of friendship and kindness. At last, when all the wizard's spells were stripped from him, and he stood alone, as weak as evil always is, they destroyed him. The darkness lifted from the land. But wizards are wise and cunning, and the wizard knew that his death would only bring the beast more sorrow. The prince who did not know love was seized with a madness and a lust for revenge, and he sought blood.

The wizard had many servants; men who feared him, who were forced to be his slaves. As the red mist filled his vision, the beast turned on them in his rage; his claws like arrows and his teeth like swords. Imagine then his horror when he turned in fury on a monster to find it was not a servant of darkness, but the brave and good knight.

The knight cried out, and the beast withdraw his claws. He tumbled to the floor, clutching his sword to him tightly, and looked at the beast with eyes filled with sorrow.

“You did this,” he said, imploring the beast to ask for forgiveness, to be a princely man. In that moment, the beast was the worse monster he would ever be. He howled in shame and looked away, and fled the knight's haunting gaze, leaving the knight on the ground. From that day he exiled himself, ran far away rather than face what he had done. He ran into the castle of his imprisonment and locked himself back in his tower. He forced his servants to fight. He was as bad a ruler as the wizard had ever been. He would not smile or laugh and play.

The ice around his heart grew thick and cold.

Finally, the prince was truly no more. In his place truly was a horrible, evil beast. The curse had come to pass.

Many years passed, and the knight’s heart never hardened. His body never recovered, yet he knew he had to fight for what was right. He kept his servants protected from the evil of the beast, and although sometimes they would have to fight, he swore never to fall to the levels of evil that the beast had sunk to. The knight saw all that the beast had done, and some of what he saw made him sad, and some of what he saw made him weep for sorrow, and none of what he saw made him angry, for his heart was too warm and good.

Eventually, he heard nothing of the beast who had tormented his kingdom. He took a magic mirror that had been in his keeping for years, and he used it to look upon the beast who had been his friend.

All the mirror could show him was darkness.

One summer day, he braved the heat and the monsters. He broke the walls of thorns, slipped past the beast’s unhappy servants, scaled the tower walls, and in the highest room he found the beast, old and unhappy and sunken into despair. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around him, stroked his fur, and kissed his withered lips.

“I forgive you,” said the knight, his voice full of love, “come home, my friend,". A tear rolled down his cheek, and splashed onto the beast's fur.

Then the beast felt his heart melt, and he was sorry. Suddenly, his heart burst into flame, warm and glowing and full of love, and his skin split down the middle, tearing like an old cloak. His claws fell off, and his fangs fell out, and a fire seemed to be burning where he stood.

The knight was frightened, and went to draw his sword, but then out of the flames stepped a glowing young man, with a silver crown.

“I have been under an enchantment,” he said, “of my own doing. I have not known how to love, because my heart was made of ice. But the ice around my heart has melted, and it is because of the warmth of your sweet heart.”

Then the knight knew for certain that this was the beast he had loved all along, and at last the prince knew love, and took the knight in his arms and kissed him. Outside the window, the thorns turned to roses, and the dark storm clouds lifted, and all the people of the kingdom, be they servants of the beast or of the knight, stopped fighting and threw up their hearts in song.

The knight and prince did not see this, however. They just went on kissing.

They had a lot of lost time to catch up on.

\---

It was some hours later that Erik walked into the library to see Charles with his reading glasses on, a book of fairytales on his lap and the ghost of a smile on his lips. He walked up behind him, kissed the back of his neck, and wrapped his arms around him.

“Have you come to rescue me, bold prince?” asked Charles, raising an eyebrow.

Erik let go of him and shot him a look. “You were listening.”

“You were projecting,” said Charles, defensively. Then his face softened, and he blushed. “You got it wrong, though. The knight always knew what had to be done.”

“Oh, did he really?” Erik murmured, leaning on the chair.

“Yes,” said Charles, looking into his eyes, and reaching out absent mindedly to pull a grey hair from Erik’s head; hair that was growing thin with age, although at least he still had his. “Everyone knows it’s a kiss that breaks the spell.”

Erik kissed him. Once, twice, three times.

And then, just in case the spell wasn’t properly broken, he kissed him a few times more.

**And of course, they lived happily ever after.**


End file.
